Best Baby Monitor 2018 – Buyer’s Guide and Reviews [In-Depth]

by Emma Martens | Last Updated Feb 07, 2018

Becoming a parent means that you are getting brand new feelings. One of them is responsibility. This feeling will never go away. However, in the first years of your child’s life, it is extremely strong. You are trying to protect your baby as much as you can. Days and nights are passing without any break and you are caring only about your little treasure.

However, also you as a parent need to have a moment to rest and not to be worried 24/7.

Fortunately, we live in an era in which you can monitor your baby even if you’re not with him or her.

Best Baby Monitor 2018

With baby monitors, you can check up on your baby even if you aren’t in the same room. Monitors are especially suited for infants, who do not sleep in a room with their parents, and in situations such as night feeding or for toddlers who have problems with sleeping or for example during the transition time when the child is moving from your room to its own.

You can use them during your baby’s afternoon nap since the baby is monitored you will be able to do other activities without stress. You will hear or see when your child will need your attention.

The baby monitor as well as the baby carrier is a great invention for parents, however, issues arise when you start to pick the right one.

On the market, there are many types of baby monitors, but if you know which features and parameters you want to focus on, the choice of the best baby monitor for you will take you less time. I am more than happy to help you and the next lines will sum up the features, pros and cons of the best ones which are on demand.

Infant Optics DXR-8 Video Baby Monitor can be for sure classified as one of the best available baby monitors on market mostly due to its performance, high quality and practical design. Plus the results in sales are amazing as it is top seller in its category. The function of zooming is supported as well. Moreover, you can use the functions of panning and tilting, too.

The night vision system helps you to check up on your baby even during the night time or in the dark. Long lasting batteries work in full mode for six hours, however, in saving mode they will last for more than ten hours.

Features

Product Weight: 2 pound
Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13.4 x 6.5 inches

Pros

Two-way talk option

The monitor can be charged via USB cable, moreover, the battery will work for all night long without any charging

Temperature monitoring

Works also as just audio device as well

Easy starting as you will need just to plug it in, no additional activities

Cons

The signal drops in case the parent unit is close to some electronic device

The quality of the camera and its picture is not really good, the picture seems to be blurry sometimes

Philips Avent monitor will bring you and your child a feeling of safety and absolute privacy. It offers several features that will help your baby fall asleep easily and also many others. The device not only delivers the clearest and most reliable sound, but it also provides you with information concerning the temperature as there is a built-in sensor.

Moreover, pleasant night lighting and sleeping lullabies guarantee calm sleeping. Auto Smart ECO mode can reduce power consumption and extend battery life. Usually, battery lasts for up to 18 hours. With this baby monitor, you will know what your child is doing even when the monitoring unit is dimmed.

The indicator lights capture the intensity of the noise in the child’s room and tell you what kinds of sounds your child is making at the moment.

Features

Product Weight: 1.4 pound
Product Dimensions: 3.5 x 8 x 6 inches

Pros

Perfect and clear sound

Long range

Nightlight and lullabies

Talkback function so you can talk to your baby via your monitoring device

Temperature sensor

Connection alert system will let you know if the batteries are low or if the other side is not connected

Cons

In case of a closer (12 feet) contact of the transmitter with the receiver mutual interference might occur

Beleef made a video baby monitor, which works perfectly and has great features. Customers are extremely satisfied as in the baby monitor reviews it belongs to the top products. The device is equipped with video infrared night vision camera with wireless digital 2.4” color screen.

Moreover, there is an option of double zooming. Digital encryption transmission will provide safe and private service of this device. The installing process is very easy and fast and camera and parent unit will connect automatically. The camera can be placed anywhere in the house due to a long power cable, which can go up to 80 inches, and strong sticky hanger, which is included in the package.

The room temperature sensor will help you monitor your baby’s room temperature without entering it, as the display of the parent unit will provide you with all the necessary information.

Features

Product Weight: 3.5 ounces
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.5 x 1.8 inches

Pros

Clear sound and picture

Double zooming function

Easy to set up

It can be placed in various spots of your house

Temperature sensor

Fast charging

Lightweight product

Cons

Few seconds delay transmission from camera to the parent unit might happen

VTech DM221 is an audio practical helper for baby care. The audio system stands out with its modern design and easy intuitive operation. The DM221 has a night light function. DECT 6.0 digital technology provides crystal clear transmission, eliminating the annoying white noise you hear from analog monitors.

The parent unit will warn you in case it will lose connection with the second side of the device. Long lasting battery, up to 18 hours, will secure your and your baby’s comfort. Moreover, as the device is so light weighted it can be clipped and you can carry it around your waist.

Features

Product Weight: 1 pound
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 2.4 x 8.2 inches

Pros

The possibility of choosing the sound sensitivity level from 5 ranges

Sound very clear, every kind of noise can be perfectly heard, from little weeping to heavy crying

Long lasting batteries and short period of charging

Budget version

Cons

A delay of signal might appear so you might hear the cry a little bit later that it will actually happen

Hello baby wireless video baby monitor is equipped with modern design digital camera HB24. The camera offers night vision function and zooming. This device has many additional features such as temperature monitoring sensor, which will send a warning in case the temperature gets inappropriate, too high or too low.

Another one is the two-way talkback system by which you can communicate or calm your child. Lullabies can be directly turned on from the parent unit so you don’t need to enter the room of baby. Last but not least, there is a very useful and practical sound activated led indicator.

Features

Product Weight: 1 pound
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 3.2 x 6.7 inches

Pros

Easy to set up

Two vox settings help you hear your baby even if the volume at lower ranges

Parent monitor allows you to switch on lullabies

Long battery life of the parent unit

Temperature control via display on the parent unit

Cons

View from camera is narrow, so you might do some small interior changes to see the baby properly

In case you are using the zooming function, you will be probably disappointed as the picture is quite grainy

Night vision function does not work properly if you want to see something the brightness of the screen has to be on maximum

The screen of this baby monitor is a 3.5″ color LCD display which is combined with a baby monitor camera with remote rotation, tilt and digital zoom. The 2.4GHz FHSS digital technology provides a secure signal, so your neighbors should not catch your device’s signal to their receiving unit.

According to many baby monitor reviews, this is one of the best wireless monitors available in terms of privacy protection. Volume control and visual-acoustic sound indicator are very beneficial additional features of the product.

It works for longer distances, even across two floors or through several walls of the house.

Smilism Baby offers a monitor which is compact and perfect for daily usage. 2.4″ color TFT LCD screen works perfectly with the camera. The picture is clear and the video you see takes place in real time. The baby monitor camera is equipped with automatic infra night vision so you can check up on your baby also during the night time without any light in its room.

You can calm him or her with the two-way talk function which allows you to speak to your baby via the parent unit.

Additional features such as temperature control system or four different lullabies on demand are self-evident. This monitoring device can work in the Eco mode for 12 hours. You do not have to connect it to the Internet.

The digital color video monitor has a big 5-inch color LCD flat-screen. The camera works also in dark rooms as it has the black and night vision function. Moreover, there is another camera feature which is digital zooming. The level of noise can be expressed by LED lights indicators which are sensitive to sounds.

You can control the volume and brightness of the screen as well. The device will announce low battery levels plus it is equipped with automatic power save mode. Apart from the camera and parent unit, the package also includes security clips and wall anchor so it can be installed easily.

Features

Product Weight: 2 pounds
Product Dimensions: 12 x 5 x 11 inches

Pros

Large screen size

Easy to assemble and set up

Clear sound

Night time vision mode

Digital zoom function

Cons

Short lasting batteries, they will work only for three hours or in some cases even less

The package comes with 2.4 inch high-quality color LCD and digital camera with infrared night vision system. Moreover, this camera is able to do double digital zooming plus there is also a function of digital panning and tilting. The range of this device is about 900 feet in open space.

Adjustable features will make every family happy as there is a system of two-way talk-back communication, an opportunity for lullabies or room temperature display which is connected to the high and low-temperature alarm.

There are various light indicators such as battery level indicator, which will warn you in case the power of the battery runs too low, or sound activated indicator, so you will hear your baby’s cry in real intensity.

Features

Product Weight: 8.6 ounces
Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 3 inches

Pros

Camera with night vision function

Double digital zooming

Lightweight device

Clear sound

Long range

Temperature monitoring

Two way talkback function and lullabies

Cons

Eco mode does not extend the battery capacity

Interference with other electronic devices

Best Baby Monitor 2018 – Buyer’s guide

Obviously, even among the best baby monitors not all of them are suitable for everybody and for every situation. You obviously don’t need a baby monitor when you are bottle-feeding. Everything depends on personal preferences of the parents and the baby as well. Some of you favor additional features such as night system which includes lullabies or back talk system. Other parents prefer the possibility of watching their child when napping or even during the night. I will summarize the recommendations and discuss several features you should follow in case you are wondering which baby monitor will perfectly fit your and your baby’s needs.

Analog vs. Digital

Analog monitors are cheaper, however, they have a big disadvantage – anyone can capture their signal, so your device might catch signals from other neighboring households in which the baby monitors are placed and working at the same time. Digital models can encrypt audio transmission, so they make it almost impossible for other devices to catch your signal. Moreover, some of them have even a “digital lock” for encrypting videos. To minimize interference with other devices many modern devices are using special technology and these products are labeled as DECT.

Audio vs. Video

There comes another issue if you should choose an audio or video monitor. First of all, you should answer several questions such as: Do I want to watch a baby while it is asleep? or Do I only need to hear it when it wakes up? Sound monitors are less costly and usually take up less space. Video monitors offer many options, including different screen sizes, cameras, even night vision functions. You will also find out that video monitors can have various functions and features such as for example in-room temperature control, lullaby mode or a sound level alert system. A video baby monitor is also great for prevention of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Technical specification

Other aspects you should consider are technical parameters namely optimal and safe frequency, quality of reception, device size and weight, and the life and charging of the battery. The most basic models use 49 megahertz (MHz). The ones above are about 900 MHz, which in fact helps improve the reach, but these are also being often interfered by older types of cordless phones as they use the same frequency. However, signal interference may also occur in 2.4 GHz transmitters, as newer cell and smartphones and some other devices using Wi-Fi systems have begun to use this frequency. The 1.9 GHz frequency is the least susceptible to be interfered from outside and at the same time offers the best protection.

Range

The range factor depends on the size of your household and where you will use the parent unit. If you plan to use it in a flat, you do not need to buy a long-range monitor. On the other hand, in a larger house with a courtyard or garden, you should rather consider a device that can receive a signal even from longer distances. You ought to take into account that usually the maxim range value is given for the open space.

The most important feature of a baby monitor is the quality of reception. You should hear the sound clearly, and in the case of video monitors, the picture should be nice and clear. Some of the new monitors offer the talk back to baby function, so you can directly calm your baby via the parent unit. So the clear sound is a necessity.

Baby monitor size

In terms of size, a smaller parent unit can be used easier as you may carry it or even keep it on the belt clipped to your waist. The bigger video monitors have larger LCD screens so you might watch your baby in more detail. It is also good to mention that some cameras have the function of zooming, tilting and panning.

Every baby monitor has its pros and cons. However, the supply on the market is wide. The baby monitor is an amazing device, which can help you on a daily basis, so it is really worth it. I am so glad that I could help you. I hope that the information and recommendations I have provided will be beneficial and you will be able to find the best baby monitor for you and your child.

Emma Martens

Full-time housewife. I have graduated from the University of Management in Brussel. I raise with my husband two beautiful kids. In my spare time, I like to read books and write reviews on 9best. Read more...